Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to have faith in something? An impala is a small deer-sized animal that lives on the plains of South Africa. The impala can run at tremendous speeds and leap as high as 10 feet and as far as 30. A friend once told me that an impala with all of its ability can be corralled by a simple enclosure made from leaves and brush because it won’t leap where it can’t see to land.

Faith is like leaping without being able to see the ground. The book of Hebrews chapter 11 starts out with what faith is. It is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. The Greek meaning for the word substance is a foundation, ownership, or title deed. So, let’s look at it this way – faith is the title deed that you would present in court as evidence of your ownership. Faith says, what I have prayed for belongs to me because I have the title to it as evidence.

But there’s something else about faith that I want to point out and that is that whatever is alive and healthy is something that is growing. If faith is alive in us and we are cultivating a healthy environment, then our faith has the ability to grow.

Romans chapter 12 tells us that we are each given a measure of faith. Mathew chapter 17 compares faith to a mustard seed in that even that small amount of faith can move mountains. But then Jesus tells us in Luke’s gospel that faith is like mustard seeds that grow into large trees. Then, we find in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 where Paul is excited that their faith was growing.

So, if the initial measure of faith given to us in the size of a mustard seed is able to move mountains and do the impossible, then what is that same faith able to accomplish as it grows? Hebrews chapter 11 starts with faith and chapter 12 continues in faith by reiterating that our faith has the ability to grow. Verse 2 says that Jesus himself is the author and finisher of our faith.

A long time ago, a man named Smith Wigglesworth gave his heart to the Lord. As a child, he would become overwhelmed with frustration at his inability to speak under pressure. Later in life, he and his wife began a ministry but soon became sidetracked with business. As his business grew, his faith in Jesus waned. His wife remained strong in her faith, and Smith eventually came back to the Lord. Through their faith and ministry, they saw the blind restored, the deaf and lame healed, cancers destroyed, and the dead risen. It is confirmed that during his ministry 14 people were raised from the dead and thousands saved and healed. The man known as the apostle of faith was once a nervous slow-talking backslider that was too afraid to speak, started his faith walk with an entry level mustard-seed-sized faith that was able to do the impossible as it grew.

The questions are: what are we believing for and who are we believing in to see it happen? Is believing God for the impossible really impossible, or have we just made it seemingly unachievable by our lack of faith? God gives each of us a powerful level of faith to start our journey, and, as our journey grows, our faith should grow also. Plant a seed of faith in Jesus and watch it grow. Present your title deed to the judge as you take back from the enemy what rightfully belongs to you.

Take a leap of faith this Sunday and make plans to attend Christpoint Church, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., on the square, in Sparta. We’ll have the coffee ready, and we can talk more about great faith. We’re real people, living real lives, serving a real God. Welcome home.